A conventional system for eliminating the leakage or seepage of water from a shower normally comprises a plastic or cloth curtain disposed on the open side of the shower by means of attachment of the curtain to a traversal rod disposed above and parallel to the floor. As a result of the blowing or waving action of shower water it has been found desirable to hold the curtain in place to prevent water from escaping from the shower. However, for various reasons, including some noted below, prior shower curtain holders have not achieved acceptance in spite of the recognized need.
It has been well documented that many accidents occur in the bathroom area of the home and especially in the shower area, where the footing is precarious and there is a lack of static structures to support the bather during his or her shower. Various fall-prevention devices comprise the permanent attachment of a rigid static bar to a permanent wall of the shower which entails expense, such as a modification of any tile present in the bathing facility.
The U.S. Patent issued to Gallob No. 1,545,093 (1925) provides an entry flap in an encompassing shower curtain which is held in a water tight manner by a series of elongated vertically disposed snaps. In order to avoid the contact of the body of the bather with the secured shower curtain, a fabric strip is sewn in a circular manner to the circumference of the curtain approximately at a point midway the length of the curtain. Intermediate the fabric strip and the shower curtain is provided a resilient stiffening hook to keep the curtain in a cylindrical form yet permit the same to be folded back for entry or exit to the bathing facility. Such system is clearly complex and unwieldy.
Another U.S. Pat. No. 1,632,761 (1927), issued to Clark discloses a device to retard the inward and outward blowing of a window curtain and shade relative the sill of an open window. A U-shaped elongated channelled member acts to hold both the horizontal rod of the shade and the "pocket" of window curtain formed by manually bunching the curtain at a point approximately in the same horizontal plane as the shade's rod. The device relies on the pressure of the shade and would not be suitable for a shower curtain.
Kleinhammer in her U.S. Pat. No. 1,654,002 (1927) provides a cantilevered system to draw and hold a curtain. In this system, tubes of elongated structure hold the curtain on both the inside and the outside thereof. One of the tubes is pivoted to provide easy release of the curtain while the extremity opposite the wall contains a yoke and grooved clasp to insure that the curtain does not exit from between the tubes. The device is not suitable for use in conjunction with shower curtains.
Another holding device to prevent the flapping of a window shade during times of increased wind velocity is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 1,746,269 (1930), issued to Lupton et al. A metal supported tube is provided for holding the window curtain away from the window sill. This tube is extended from the interior of the window frame by parallel tubes which are hinged on the inside of the window. Thus, when the window is closed, the metal tube may be raised to allow the curtain to hang freely from the curtain rod. This device has little or no pertinency to the holding of shower curtains.
A somewhat older device for restraining a curtain is set forth by Keith in U.S. Pat. No. 871,703 (1907). A taut coil is extended parallel to the plane of the window to inhibit the lower half of the curtain from exiting the window. The flexibility of this device detracts from any potential use it might have as a shower curtain holder. Another flexible curtain holder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,107,421 to Lennox (1938) which is disposed similar to Keith's holder but will prohibit the curtain from blowing either inwardly or outwardly.
An apparatus is disclosed by Micheau in U.S. Pat. No. 3,382,507 which inhibits the escape of water from a shower when the same is in use. In essence, the conventional shower curtain is augmented by a plurality of vertically-disposed position-retaining flexible members, each of which possesses a magnet fixed at its lower end. Thus, a seal is formed at the lowermost end of the curtain which makes the same impervious to water leakage.
The prior art holding systems have to this date not utilized a curtain holder which horizontally traverses the entire width of the curtain and is rigid so as to not only prevent water seepage from the shower when in use but also provide a security function and additional privacy for the bather.